Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-02-17

One of the best illustrations of the
progress of civilization in recent years is
found, says the Sanitary Engineer, in the
change which has taken place with regard
To the use OF ice, What was formerly
the luxury of the few has now become
almost necessity for the many; the
preservation and transportation of ice,
or its manufacture by artificial means,
and its regular delivery during the warm
months, has become an important bust
ness, giving Employment TO large mum
Der of men and requiring large amount
of invested capital. This extended use
OF ice il especially an American custom.
Fifteen years ago ice was not TO be had
at the smaller hotels in Europe, and at
the best ones it was a special luxury, well
charged for. Now il can be had without
extra charge at almost any hotel largo or
small, though 1t is by no means used in
tho profusion in which il TO be found
here.
Questions as TO the dangers TO health
connected with the use of ice taken from
certain localities are therefore of great
interest, the moro so since disease pro
duced by the use of contaminated ice
could rarely be traced to its true cause,
which in most cases would probably not
be even suspected Attention was in
fact not called to this matter until
1876, whom an epidemic of diarrhea at
Rye Beach, +. H., was clearly traced to ice
cut from contaminated pond. Since
that time the same cause has been su5-
pected or proved in about half-a'dozen
cases of occurrence of typhoid fever or of
diarrhea. Certainly this is n very small
proportion of bad results as compared
with the almost universal use of ice, es-
peclally when we remember that people
will cut ice from streams or ponds that
that they would consider too impure to
furnish drinking water, because they
think that freezing puriies the water.
While tho publication of water by freex-
ing does occur 10 considerable extent,
1T is by no means complete or to be relied
on.
Freezing does not destroy the vitality
Of some bacteria, nor does IL specially
tend to free the water from dead organic
matter. That freezing will not destroy
the life of the bacillus of typhoid fever Is
shown by DR.. Billings in communica-
tion.
1t will be seen fsom what has been said
u
O decide whether the water Of A particu-
lar stream or pond is or is not so impure
that ice cut from if will probably be dan
gerous to health, it can only proceed on
probabilities, since it will very rarely be
possible to prove chat ice taken from
that particular locality, or even the water
from the same place has caused disease.
Nevertheless these probabilities may be
quite sufficient to warrant the forbidding
the sale of ice taken from particular
spot. This seems to have been the case
az regards ice cut from Onondaga lake
which the city board of health of syria.
cuse, in this state, forbade to be sold for
any use which would bring it into direct
contact with articles of food or drink.
The firm engaged in packing and selling
this ice obi eoted to this interference with
their business, whereupon, Mr.. James i.
Gardener investigated the matter for the
state board Of heait which has published
his report. Dir. Gardener found that
OnondagG lake is contaminated with
sewage; that the contamination Is in
creasing from the sewers Of Syracuse,
and that ice taken from it contains lIv-
ing bacteria of yariS1s kinds and about
ten per cent. OF Sae sewage matters
in the water from which it is fored. He
therefore approves the order of the city
board Of health and the propriety and
wisdom of this decision can hardly be
questioned.